Closing In

It was birthday time in the Hess household, yet again. Birthdays seemed like a revolving door nowadays. Still, they were special occasions. There was always a small celebration, including cake and family. This time around, the Hess were celebrating Wes' growth from infancy to toddlerhood. Wes was an easily pleased toddler, for which Sophia was pleased, and he seemed to learn quickly. It made him less of a hassle, giving her more time to carry on her legacy of being a lothario.

She had grown to really fancy her dear Todd. He was a very handsome man and had an interesting dress to him. She began going out with him often. But it was when she started inviting him back to her place that things truly took off. Alas, their relationship wasn't to always remain a secret.

Craig eventually discovered Sophia's dirty little secret. He was, surprisingly, heart broken. Despite having his own sideline candy, the thought of his Sophia having her own was unbearable. He supposed the bond they shared that resulted in Nicholas would have prevented such things. But that wasn't the case.

Though, despite the immense hurt he felt, he could not deny it. Sophia was still the sexiest woman he'd ever seen. Sure, she was a cheating, lying skuzzbag but she was a sexy skuzzbag. Sophia wouldn't object.

To drown his sorrows, Craig found comfort in the new pool Sophia installed. He had it to himself the whole day, surprisingly. Sophia had something against letting the kids swim in it...perhaps it was the fact there was only a diving board, no railing. Craig realized this all too late. Though he tried to get out by climbing, the sidelines were awfully sticky. His screams fell on deaf ears, as well....

The children weren't at all attached to Craig, so his passing left nothing much to mourn over to them. They spent their time "mourning" wisely, playing chess and reading. Perhaps it was a bit offense to say so but death was so boring. When you watch several of your mother's "friends" come and go, the proof of one's mortality tends to lose its appeal.

As the more outgoing child, Natasha's bubbly personality seemed ever more evident after Craig's passing. She opened up even more. Delilah was soon becoming her favorite play thing. The cat didn't seem to mind much. The attention was well-received.

She also gained much praise for her grades. The way she balanced her social life and academics was amazing. It was as if nothing could go wrong for her.

Sophia hoped some of Natasha's success had rubbed off on her. Todd loved her very much, this much was true. But would he willingly accept the surprise invitation to move in? He had, much to Sophia's pleasure. This made, what, ten now? Sophia wondered. Ten was a nice number.

Todd Gergis
Romance Sim
Libra
Wants to be a Hall of Famer
Unemployed
Brought $1

Todd was cute but he was utterly useless! Sophia hadn't seen it before but having him around constantly made her regret her decision. He had no culinary skills whatsoever, yet thought it was a genius idea to leave a boiling pot of spaghetti sauce on the stove, then go take a nap. Oh yes. He was quite the catch. She could only hope his genes weren't strong.

Speaking of which, she hoped Craig left his on Nicholas. The infant was growing rapidly and it wouldn't be before long that he'd turn into an adorable toddler. She hoped.

Joel had turned out decently. He still had to grow into some of his features but his luck with the ladies was ensured. He was a Hess, after all.

Fer Sure Maybe

Craig was a very attractive man. He was a welcomed treat to Sophia's abode. He was kind, gentle, warm...but also very loose with his love. He, like Sophia, didn't believe in confinements like marriage. So he never bothered in proposing. It was a happy union.



Another happy union was of Natasha and her love for science. The girl was growing ever attatched to her telescope. Her love of science did lead to some strange things though. The lesser things consisted of her insane babbling about aliens and time machines. The worse thing was having the head nerd from the Science club come by....in the middle of the night. Weird.



Though Craig was nice, Sophia still had to keep her options open. So while Craig as at work and the kids were home, she took the opportunity to start dating again. This time, she did it more descreetly as in, away from her home. So she began hiring a nanny to take care of her kids.



She easily seduced any man the matchmaker arranged for her. They fell, one by one, for the woman's charms. Even as she fell flat on her face while bowling, she could feel the eyes of her date on her in an intoxicating gaze. Oh yeah. She had him hooked.



Craig wasn't going to be upstaged by Sophia. Taking advantage of her absence, he invited over a female coworker. Oh sure, she thought they were just going to talk about their minimum wage and benefits. She never imagined becoming part of a hot, steamy affair.



Sophia and Craig played the perfect part of family once she fell pregnant, however. All their skeletons were locked away and the kids never knew better. They had suspicions of each other's personal relations with others but in front of the children, they didn't mention it.



Sophia was becoming worried about Natasha. Girls like her tended to wind up spinsters. So she suggested inviting over a male classmate to "assist with homework." She was full of glee when the two hit it off. That'd keep Natasha away from the telescope and sci-fi movies for a bit.



The truce was over once Nicholas was born. He was a beautiful baby, naturally and Sophia really thanked Craig for his genes. But his use was now over and it was time to let him in on a secret: only Sophia was allowed to carry out extramarital affairs.

Simply Being Loved

Joel was grateful for Natasha. She was more than willing to keep him company, even during quiet time. She would sit with him and together, they'd study for school. She was so smart and helpful. His grades substancally raised after she offered to help him.



With the kids using her bedroom as a library, Sophia had to find a new place to hang out. She was too pregnant to comfortably sit and sew so she had to find something else to do. Wanting to keep an eye on the children at the same time, she used Natasha's bedroom as her new art studio.



Of course, dinner time brought the entire clan together. Somedays, they'd have Roselle over. Some days, Daniel and Emily joined them. Their latest guest was a man Sophia knew. The children just thought he was a friend she had made out on her adventures to My Muse II. Pong knew better

Sophia kept up with her business, of course. She was getting more customers this days. The vases were simply flying off the shelves. Henri was so amazed. She decided he was old enough to learn the secret. So she started to explain her magic sales touch....

When she suddenly went into labor! Yes, out of the blue, she felt a strong pain. Henri was in shock. His new brother or sister was about to be born, right in front of his eyes!

Luckily, Pong managed to get Sophia to the hospital in time, where little Wes Hess was born. Wes had Pong's lucious blonde locks, dark skin and Sophia's chartreuse eyes. It would seem he'd be in the same boat as Natasha.

With Wes now in her arms, there was no more room for Pong. Besides, having him constantly yell at her for cheating on him was becoming annoying. So it was time to bid adieu. Having him cause his own death was getting tiresome. He was far too...lucky. So Sophia helped him a bit, by wetting some wires...

But such freak accidents were normal to the Hess! No one so much as flinched when Pong passed. Infact, Joel seemed inspired by it. He strove to do better in school and soon came home with a remarkable report card. Sophia was very pleased. If that boy kept it up, he'd be seeing a new game in his future.

Natasha also did well in school but it was expected. While most of the Hess children were drawn towards the arts, she was more of a science gal. Stargazing was the bee's knees, to her. She spent many nights finding different celestial bodies. Sometimes, Sophia had to literally drag her off in order to get her to go to bed.

When Natasha did go to bed, Sophia returned to romancing one of her favorite boy toys. After a few dates, she decided he would be her ninth victim. He seemed pleased about it, though.

Craig McGaw
Romance Sim
Libra
Host
Wants to be Professional Party Guest
Brought 18k

The new couple wasted no time getting to work on the next generation.Sophia thought about it fondly. Just two more babies...and she was done for good. Her days of swinging would soon end. Might as well go out with style, yes?

Ordinary Day

No matter how many times she found herself with child, Sophia never felt any better than the time before. She was always so tired. But this time around, she at least had a soft bed. Yes, after eight kids, Sophia finally got around to updating her bedroom. Sparrowhill had finally gotten its own IKEA, so she went on a small shopping spree when Pong was at work. Coming home, she happily took her first nap in her new bed.

Pong had no problem keeping himself entertained. Once he was sure Sophia was asleep and done giving Joel chores to keep him busy, he made his moves on a female coworker he had brought home. It wasn't as if Sophia was completely innocent herself so even if she knew of his extra arm candy, what could she say?

But he really didn't need to have to explain himself to Joel, so once the boy was done, so was he. He shooed his lady love away and went back to his stepfatherly duties. Joel was all the more oblivious.

With his mother's bedroom upgraded into a comfy library, Joel had a new place to study. The living room was often too loud for him, what with his stepfather playing video games all the time. Joel had heard marvelous stories of Sparrowhill University and couldn't wait to join his sisters there. He had to start early if he wanted to get enough scholarships.

Because of his studying, he didn't have time to make many friends and found himself quite lonely. When other boys his age were running around outside, playing tag, he was indoors cuddling his teddy in the comfort of the nursery. Natasha was the only friend he needed, even if she was still struggling to even say his name

Unlike her brother, Natasha was already proving to be sociable. She loved to cuddle anything that moved and give kisses to everyone who held her. Most people found her affections adorable. Delilah wasn't one of them.

The weekend ended and all of Sophia's boys were gone. Except one. A strange fellow she had once gone on a date with stood outside all day. Weird.

Inside, Sophia and Natasha had a girls-only day to themselves. It was mostly spent sleeping, true, but it was nice to have the house to themselves.

Wanting to surprise the boys when they got home, Sophia tried to prepare a delicious salmon dinner. But her culinary skills were never that grand.

That's why when it came time for Natasha's birthday, the family went out to eat instead. Natasha's strange looks turned out in her favor as she came more into her body. Then again, Sophia refused to believe she could and would ever make any questionable looking children

Killing Lonliness

Poor Joel's young life seemed to be fraught with danger. From seeing ghosts to fires, he'd seen it all. Perhaps it was due to his misfortunate adventure with a mirror, ending in shattering it. But just as he was settling down to eat his burnt muffin, the stove suddenly caught fire. It was a completely random act. No one had used the stove all evening...had they? But being a smart boy, Joel immediately called the fire station and the blaze was soon exterminated.

Joel was quite shook up about it, of course. Days afterwords, he still couldn't be left alone in the kitchen. Sophia understood. But he had to recover somehow. So Sophia decided to buy him something nice while she was out on the town. She stopped by the local minimart and after purchasing some jewelry for herself, she bought him a new video game to take his mind off things.

Her son's happiness was very important to Sophia, of course. It meant he didn't bother her as much and it gave her more time to work on her dating. While Pong was away, Sophia made sure to play as many boys as she could. She just loved the Drakkar Noir-laced letters they left behind.

Of course, she still had use of Pong. With Natasha soon becoming a toddler, it was time to prepare for the next baby. So she had to convince Pong to assist in the two part tango of babymaking. He was hesitant. He didn't particularily enjoy caring for children. They were so...loud.

But he did his part. He did it well. In no time at all, Sophia was reliving those precious days of morning sickness and exhaustion. Oh joy!

But she still had time left before actually showing her new gift to the world. So she milked it for all it was worth, by trying to seduce various men for later claims. It occured to her that by winning over the Headmaster of the private school her children attended, it would provide even more of an advantage to her future children. He did seem to enjoy her charm while visiting for inspections. Why was he suddenly rebuffing her now?

Letting him get away wasn't too bad. It gave her time to focus on Natasha. Yes, it was just yesterday the strange little girl was able to be held in one's palm. Now, she was a whole year older. Her looks were heavily influenced by her father but Sophia could see some potential with it. After all, Natasha was still a Hess. All Hess were gorgeous.

A party was in order, of course. Sophia wanted to see her older children and what better way than to throw a party? Unforunately, the college girls couldn't make it but they sent their love. Henri arrived with Daniel and immediately, both were taken with Delilah. The cat throughly enjoyed the affection.

Roselle made sure to give attention to the birthday girl and Joel. Joel was pleased to have his oldest sister there. She was always so nice to him. And she even brought cookies!